Best time to fly out of Duluth (DLH)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Duluth: departures in the Before 6am band left on time 90.5% of the time, against 78.2% in the 2–4pm band. These are historical odds, not forecasts. The records say what happened on this schedule over three years; they know nothing about tomorrow’s thunderstorm.
Data through June 2026 · Bureau of Transportation Statistics
On-time rate by hour and day
On this page, “on time” means a departure that pushed back less than 15 minutes behind its scheduled time — the Bureau of Transportation Statistics definition, and the one airlines are held to.
| Departure time | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Before 6am | 92 | 87 | 90 | 95 | 90 | 90 | 90 |
| 6–8am | 91 | 84 | 84 | 89 | 86 | 84 | 89 |
| 8–10am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10am–12pm | 82 | 80 | 83 | 82 | 81 | 74 | 80 |
| 12–2pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2–4pm | 77 | 80 | 79 | 81 | 77 | 77 | 75 |
| 4–6pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 6–8pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 8–10pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10pm–12am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
The steadiest stretch at DLH was Before 6am — 90.5% of departures left on time across 1,078 flights. The weakest was 2–4pm at 78.2%.
The year at DLH
January was the hard month at DLH: 70.3% of departures left on time, across 417 flights. October was the easy one at 91.7%. Each month pools three years of that month, so a single bad week does not decide it.
| Month | Share departures that left on time | Flights |
|---|---|---|
| January | 70.3% | 417 |
| February | 85.2% | 467 |
| March | 81% | 554 |
| April | 85.5% | 584 |
| May | 86.9% | 608 |
| June | 81.4% | 595 |
| July | 81.4% | 622 |
| August | 83.4% | 649 |
| September | 86.7% | 641 |
| October | 91.7% | 588 |
| November | 84.6% | 527 |
| December | 72.4% | 494 |
Airlines at DLH
Every airline with at least 100 departures from DLH, busiest first. These are that airline’s departures from this airport only — its record across the country sits on its own page.
| Airline | Left on time | Typical delay | Cancelled | Departures |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SkyWest Airlines | 81.8% | 113 min | 1.9% | 5,661 |
| Republic Airways | 91.7% | 122 min | 1.1% | 636 |
| Endeavor Air | 85.1% | 63 min | 1% | 291 |
| Delta Air Lines | 87.9% | — | 0.6% | 158 |
A dash under typical delay means fewer than 30 of that airline’s departures ran 15 minutes late or more — too few to average.
What delays out of DLH were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 1,255 flights that departed DLH and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 45.4% put down to airline operations and 21.4% to late-arriving aircraft.
- Late-arriving aircraft 21.4%
- Airline operations 45.4%
- Air traffic & airport volume 14%
- Severe weather 19%
- Security 0.2%
Late-arriving aircraft is the knock-on category: the plane came in late, so it went out late again. It is why a 7am problem in Newark is still a problem in Denver at dinnertime, and why it is usually the biggest slice on the bar.
If you are connecting through DLH
Of 6,747 scheduled arrivals into DLH, 76.7% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 1,436 arrivals that ran late, 50.4% were no more than 45 minutes behind — which is the difference between a tight connection and a new boarding pass.
Work out a specific layover — pick the airport and the minutes you have, and the tool reads the same arrival records back as a share.
Busiest routes out of DLH
Ranked by flights, with the share that arrived on time at the far end. Where a route carries enough flights for a page of its own the chip goes there; otherwise it goes to the destination airport.
DLH in one number
Duluth (DLH)
Rank 192 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: Before 6am. Hardest month: January.
Questions about DLH
- What is the best time of day to fly out of Duluth?
- Before 6am. Departures in that band left on time 90.5% of the time across 1,078 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 2–4pm band was the weakest at 78.2%.
- What is the worst month to fly out of DLH?
- January: 70.3% of the departures that flew left on time, with 417 scheduled. October was the other end of the year at 91.7%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at DLH?
- Republic Airways — 91.7% of its 636 departures from DLH left on time. SkyWest Airlines sat at the other end at 81.8% over 5,661 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
- How often are flights cancelled at DLH?
- 1.7% of scheduled departures were cancelled over July 2023 through June 2026. Cancellations are counted against everything scheduled, not against everything that flew — a rate that looks small still adds up to real people in a rebooking line.